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Problems with 2004 Ford Expedition VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

On average, the 2004 Ford Expedition starts to “feel” problems with the VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL and its various aspects after 67 125 miles.

Components Affected by VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL Issues

We have classified the 16 complaints from 2004 Ford Expedition about VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL into the following categories.

CRUISE CONTROL 5

Recently reported VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL problems on 2004 Ford Expedition

My vehicle, without any warning at any speed, including highway speeds, shuts off completely,without any warning or indication that it is about to do this. always on a straight road with almost a full tank of gas. the cause a relay switch which is soldiered into the memory board that controls the vehicle's brain box that shorts out. after doing research on the internet, i am both shocked and disgusted that the nhsta has not investigated this faulty design by ford and made them recall all of the 2003- 2008 expeditions. you only have to pull it up on you-tube or google to see the 1000's upon 1000s of complaints from expedition owners concerning this constant and dangerous problem, which clearly endangers every expedition owner and their family. the worst part of this, the ford dealerships want you to spend $1000 of dollars needlessly to try and diagnose this same, old problem, before they finally deal with replacing the entire fuse block panel, just for the relay switch, which is the cause, the shorting out relay switch. the internet shows again and again, that this problem is so rampant, that it isn't if it happens, but when, because it was a faulty and defective design, which endangers all expedition owners made these years. the faulty fuse block's fuel pump relay switch burns out and between that and the thin wires grounding out under the hood, drivers, unsuspectingly are left in panic modes on the highway, scrambling to get out of harms way, as a result of your vehicle turning off at all speeds, ie, 70 mph. imagine a semi is behind you and you don't have the safe means of escaping the dangerous predicament you are now left in to get over to the side of the road? a recall is needed asap before too many people are needlessly killed as a result. expedition's are family vehicle's and usually have lots of children in them! this is too dangerous to keep overlooking.

Can not drive car power train and engine blew out dont drive drive far only in my city and up to maintence and all of sudden girls stop shifting one day while on road very scary had to pull over in middlke of intersection after tht\at day bought another transmission and same thing happened didnt last month spent so much money on trans that cannot afford new agin

When driving in cold weather the vehicle continues to accelerate after you have released the accelerator. it doesn't matter whether you are using the cruise control or not. *tr

While driving on a 3 lane highway where the speed limit is 65, i began my transition to the right lane to exit. we were traveling approximately 60mph. as i began to change lanes the vehicle noticeabley began to accelerate. at first i thought the cruise control had been activated, but when j attempted to stop, the car kept trying to accelerate. as i entered the exit ramp the car did not slow down the way it should have and the brakes did not feel sure. as i was able to come to a safe roll, i placed the car i to neutral at which time the car accelerated violently. i felt for the gas pedal which seemed to to depressed as if the cruise control was on. however, i was stopped. the engine did finally slow to within normal rpm. i was somewhat convinced that something may have been stuck, but soon realized that the gas pedal is hinged from above and not into the floor, nor was there anything on the floor. *tr

While slowly braking to a stop behind traffic stopped for a red light, the engine suddenly accelerated with my right foot still on the brake pedal. i pressed harder on the brake and when i realized the engine was still revving (at over 3,000 rpm), i put the transmission into neutral and noticed the engine speed erratically bouncing up and down in roughly the 2500 to 3500 rpm range. i still had my right foot firmly pressed on the brake pedal. i finally shut the ignition off and put the transmission into park. i waited a a few seconds and restarted the engine. this entire time i never lifted my right foot off the brake pedal. the engine started and idled at a normal 600 rpm or so. i carefully put it into drive so i could get out of traffic. at each subsequent stop, i would put the transmission into neutral just in case of another incident. i promptly drove straight home which fortunately was only 2 miles away. i checked the floor mat to see if the accelerator pedal could have gotten stuck but there was plenty of clearance. the floor mat is anchored to the floor so doesn't move. this is the first time something like this has happened to this or any other vehicle i've owned or driven. *tr

Vehicle had a sudden unintended acceleration event which nearly resulted in an accident. this was a very nerve racking experience and i had difficulty stopping the vehicle (despite applying full brakes) as the rpm continued to increase to approx. 5000. on stopping the vehicle i managed to place it in neutral and the engine continued to rev excessively. i turned off the engine. vehicle was brought to local ford dealership who confirmed a high rev problem with the electronic throttle control and recommended a "throttle body" replacement. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford expedition. she smelled plastic burning in her garage; however, she observed flames coming from underneath the hood of her vehicle. the fire department extinguished the fire and the vehicle is in her garage. the vehicle was destroyed and there were major damages to her residence. the dealer was not notified. her insurance company stated that ford will be sending out an investigator to determine what caused the fire. there is an incident report from the fire department .there is a recall on ford vehicles for the cruise control switch but at this moment they don't know if that caused the fire to occur. the failure and current mileages were 79000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford expedition. while entering the drive-way, the vehicle lurched forward without pressing the accelerator pedal. he had to remove the key from the ignition to stop the vehicle. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership. the current and failure mileages were 90000.

Cruise control stuck and the speed would accelerate and there was no way to turn off cruise control or slow down truck. *tr

On three occasions starting 6/21/06, after putting the car into gear (forward twice, reverse once), the engine immediately raced and lurched, and an inordinate amount of pressure had to be applied to the brakes to try to control the car. there were three different drivers each time who will attest to this. the last occasion, my wife was backing into our driveway, stopped, put the care in 'park', and then, after a minute, into reverse again, where it immediately accelerated to a very high rate of speed, smashed into my son's van (totaling it), pushed the van another 15 feet over two trees, where she finally had control of the brake. we are very fortunate that no one was hurt, but i'm very concerned at ford's response. i took it to springfield ford, where i purchased the care, and was told that, after a thorough check they could find nothing wrong with the vehicle, and that they even talked to the ford 'hotline', and that the ford engineers had 'never heard' of a situation like this. i told the service rep that if he googled 'sudden acceleration' and 'ford' he might get an education. needless to say, i have appx $3-4,000 in damages to the expedition, and the van, a '99 windstar is beyond repair. i'm sure that by contacting the local dealer, i'll get nowhere, as it's very apparent they either don't believe me; don't care; or are covering up what truly is a serious issue. thank you for your time and consideration. *nm

1998 ford expedition caught on fire while the vehicle was parked and the engine was cut off.*mr the consumer believed his expedition suffered from the same defect in the cruise control deactivation switch as other vehicel's. *nm

While on the beltway driving at 55 mph steering wheel started to vibrate. then, consumer saw smoke coming from under the hood. consumer pulled over , and the passenger opened the hood to find flames coming from under the hood. assistance was provided by a state trooper. the fire department responded to contain the fire. consumer mentioned the cruise control was on earlier. this vehicle was not included in cruise control nhtsa recall 05v017000. *ak

Both roof air bags inadvertently deployed while driving on the highway at 65 mph, under normal weather/driving conditions. the cruise control was engaged when the failure occurred. the cruise control disengaged its' self several times prior to the failure. took the vehicle to the dealer, where they tucked the air bags, and the consumer continued to travel. manufacturer stated they will repair if a defect is found.*ak cruise control did not work at times on the consumers vehicle. *tc

On december 5, 2004, my family and i were driving south on interstate 5 near edmonds, washington. the cruise control motor of our 2004 ford eddie bauer expedition engaged on its own and malfunctioned in such a way as to open up the throttle on the car. we were sent at high speeds through traffic with no way to stop. braking the car, putting the car into neutral or lower gears, nothing worked. we narrowly avoided many collisions which could have resulted in serious injury or death to our family and others on the road that day. my husband is an excellent driver and remained calm. we made our way through traffic to the side of the road where he was able to slam on the emergency brake and turn the key off. all four brakes were billowing smoke. our local dealer has "fixed the problem" but i am compelled to warn other drivers of our difficulties. we have been unable to reach a representative from the ford motor company. i believe they know of this mechanical failure because they changed the cervo motor that controls the cruise control in their 2005 model. we have found other individuals on the internet that had the same near death experience. i hope ford does not wait for someone to die before they ask for a recall. please help me warn other drivers. thank you!*ak

On 9-18-04 darrell baldwin, denice baldwin and devin theisen were in 2004 expedition sitting in driveway preparing to leave for a soccer game. darrell put the vehicle in drive with the brake firmly applied. the car involuntarily accelerated at high rate until the brakes quit and shot us into our other vehicle parked in the driveway. we veered right trying to miss the truck but was unsuccessful. the car continued across our yard heading toward our neighbors house across the street. during this time the brakes were unable to stop the car and the gear shift wouldn't go into neutral. the path left skid marks down our driveway, across the street and finally in the driveway of our neighbor. this was an extremely unsafe situation. usually there are children out playing and had this occurred when children were present it could have been a potentially fatal situation! there is a problem that needs to be researched. ford has taken possession of vehicle for investigation.*ak

The consumer was pulling out of a parking lot in light rain, made a right turn and the vehicle surged forward and veered into the street. the consumer was standing on the brakes, but the vehicle continued to surge forward. the vehicle hit and scraped a parked vehicle, damaging the right side. the vehicle was finally brought to a stop and taken to the dealer, who examined the vehicle and could not find anything wrong with it. *ak *sc *jb

The vehicle transmission was in the park position while waiting on a slow train. when engaging the transmission into the drive position, after the train had passed, the vehicle uncontrollably fully accelerated on it's own. to avoid a seriously collision with oncoming traffic, the driver turned the vehicle on to the railroad tracks where it came to a stop after damaging two wheels and high centering on the tracks. this is a very dangerous vehicle. *nm

On sunday, 3/14/2004, i was driving my 2004 ford expedition on dry pavement when the vehicle began to shake with acceleration (15-20 mph). i checked to be sure there were no flat tires and proceeded. once the vehicle was up to 45-50 mph i attempted to brake and the vehicle's brakes did not properly respond. the brake pedal began to vibrate and shake but the vehicle did not slow down. i applied the brakes harder and the vehicle came to a slow stop. once the vehicle stopped a warning buzzer sounded and the vehicles message center stated "check advtrac". the advtrac feature disabled and i was able to drive the vehicle home safely. the next day, (today 3/15/04), i drove the vehicle to the ford dealership without event. the dealership had no idea what the problem was but stated they would contact ford and let me know. this event took place on a clear paved dry flat road. fortunately, there were no other cars in my path of travel. had there been, a collision would have occurred due to the failure of the braking system. the vehicle has 2014 miles and the vin is [xxx]. the vehicle was being operated in the "2high" mode. this is a serious system failure related directly to the advtrac system. *ak update 07/30/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

When coming off a ramp and merging into oncoming traffic the accelerator became stuck. the driver had to slam on the brakes and place the transmission into neutral. at 1,470 miles while pulling into the driveway the truck suddenly stopped accelerating and would only go in reverse. the automatic transmission piston had disintegrated. *jb *sc

While driving in cruise control mode at 65 mph the cable stuck in open. consumer was unable to disengage from this mode by depressing the brake pedal. consumer had to put the vehicle in the neutral gear and turn the vehicle off. the cause of the cable sticking is yet to be determined.*ak

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